Brett Hull Figured to Have a 50-50 Chance

A famous name isn’t the only thing 50-goal scorer Brett Hull inherited.

“It’s just one more milestone in what’s going to be a long career,” said Hall of Famer Bobby Hull, the other half of the NHL’s only father-and-son 50-goal duo, after his son reached the milestone Tuesday night.

“He’s better than I ever was and he’ll do a lot more than I ever did. I’ve always told him he isn’t a 30- or 40-goal scorer, he’s a 50- or 60-goal scorer.”

Or more.

Brett Hull, after getting his NHL-leading 50th in a 6-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, has 26 games to build on his totals. With 50 goals in 54 games, he’s 12th on the all-time list of the “NHL’s Fastest 50.” In only his third season -- and in the option year of his contract -- Hull, 25, has joined some pretty exclusive company.

But what comes next? Even Hull isn’t sure.

“Fifty goals is what you aim for when you first start playing hockey,” Hull said. “Not being a checker or a penalty killer or anything like that.

“I’m going to play hard and see what I can do.”

Toronto defenseman Al Iafrate says Hull, who has seven goals in seven games against the Maple Leafs, is hard to stop because he’s not greedy. “He’s smart,” Iafrate said. “Most wingers, you don’t have to spread apart with your partner because it’s like the puck is a magnet. He stays on the boards and out of traffic and always gets his chances.”

One of the few names ahead of Brett on the “fastest 50” list is his father, who got 50 goals in 52 games in 1966. Bobby Hull topped 50 goals five times, the first time at age 23 in 1962, and amassed 610 NHL goals in 16 seasons.

Bobby Hull, who watched from a private box in the St. Louis Arena when Brett beat Toronto goaltender Jeff Reese on a third-period breakaway, said he always had high hopes for his son -- even last season, when Brett was an out-of-shape, one-dimensional player, who scored 41 goals but finished with a minus-17 rating.

After attending an offseason conditioning camp at the Blues’ request, he came to training camp in top shape and has developed into a complete player, good enough to be voted the starting right wing for the Campbell Conference All-Star Team.

He learned to pass when the shot’s not there and can score on a backhander as easily as with his well-respected slap shot. He’s also more effective defensively and has a plus-11 rating, third on the Blues.

“I kept harping on it,” Bobby Hull said of the need for his son to improve. “I made him realize what he had to do -- dare to be different. He’s made me very proud. I’m living it all again. It’s a great, great thrill.”

Brett is getting even better as the season goes on. He’s riding a 17-game point-scoring streak, in which he has 19 goals and 13 assists.

He’s also first in the league with 18 power-play goals, tied for first with 10 game-winning goals and four goals away from the Blues’ season record of 54 set by Wayne Babych in 1980-81.